March-June 2004 Guestbook Archives

I skated love park and it was magical.sean, Lynnwood Washington [06-30-2004]

I skated Love a year and a half ago and it was the best thing that ever happend to me. No skatepark could ever beat love thats just how damn good it is and i someday hope to skate there again. SO FREE LOVE!brandon nguyen, Burlingame, CA [06-30-2004]

i live in yardely PA right outside philly. one weekend me and some friends took the train down to philly to skate there for the day. it is a skate heaven there. there are so many places to skate in the area, love, city hall and other spots. we also went into south philly to skate. at the end of the day we were at love ready to get on the train. some idiot called the cops on us just because he had nothing better to do and my bro got a ticket for $25. the cop was such an asshole about it even though my bro was being cool to the dude. he paided the fune but I think it is so stupid to get a ticket for having fun. the law treats us like criminals. its so g*. FREE LOVE PARK NOWDaniel, philly [06-28-2004]

I traveled over two thousand miles just to skate the beautiful terrain of LOVE Park, i heard it was closed but still went out on my razors edge and was not going to miss the chance to skate the park becuase of some technicality, because the mayor has a problem with giving kids somewhere to skate. That took incredible devotion to fly over two thousand miles just on a hunch that even though word was it was closed i was still going to throw down. So when i got there it was amazing there were kids all around skating, i even got a glimpse of Kalis becuase the DC tour was 15 miles north. I just don't think the city realizes that we need LOVE Park, i mean all around the country there are kids that are infatuated with the place, i'm from a place with 90,000 people as the population, and just in my town there are handfulls of kids that wish they could skate it. I guess what i'm really getting at is that LOVE Park is where most of our hearts are. Peace.Alex Berry, Missoula, MT [06-28-2004]

Skateboarding is the most looked down upon un-represented sport there is, period. People make livings off of kicking skaters out of spots, there is millions of dollars in the "skate stopping" industry (www.skatestoppers.com). We are stereotyped as a people as obnoxious, drug taking teenagers that dont care about anything. No one outside of skateboarding understands the hardships we go through so for all the none skateboarding peoples reading this I will explain... Imagine you were first introduced to the sport of basketball, the minute you picked up a ball you fell in love with the sport. You practiced in your driveway constently and as time passed you got better and better. After a While you wanted to move on to play ball on better real courts so one day you go to a court in your town and you play. But after a few minutes of playing you get kicked out by the cops, you find out that basketball playing is not allowed on these courts for liability purposes and you have to leave. Then you go to the next court and play and the same thing happens, you get kicked out in minutes. You go from court to court getting kicked out and it boggles your mind why your not allowed to play anywhere because these quarts are so beautiful and perfectly made to play basketball. You see this is the story with skateboarding, the whole world is our basketball court, where just not allowed to play. Save Love park, its the only thing we have, these people are shattering the dreams of millions of skateboarders all for what? A chess tournament. From, Dannydan, ny [06-27-2004]

i used to skate the park a lot. it was i actually fell in love with skating. kids were all cool and we tryed to stay out of people way. not once did any one object to it in my 4 years of skating there. actually old people would watch and smile and s*. then a stupid f* trys to come in and ban skateboarding from the park. then says no to a million dollars. smart guychris [06-27-2004]

when i skated Love for the first time in my life it was like i was skating in heaven i skated for about an hour and a half until all the pigs came and crashed the party. FREEEEEEEEEE Love!Phillip Candelaria [06-24-2004]

its like this... love is da bomb, and everyone knows that. the city is just taking candy from a baby, we got to get love back, if not for the people who first skated it, then at least for us youths p.s. from what i've seen, almost every good skate video got some good love skating in itAntwon, florida [06-24-2004]

I am 14 now. when i just started skating at age 13, i went on a vacation to new jersey. me and dave (my older brother) who also skates drove to love park. we skated for atleats 20 mins and i cop started to run after us. so me and dave did the smart thing and ran away. he tackled me and i f***** up my leg and the rest of the vacation sucked but free love park!anonymous, monroeville pa [06-21-2004]

philly do the world a favor and free love park!anonymous [06-11-2004]

The city really needs to drop its blinders and give this offer more serious thought. Kids need a safe sanctuary--adults too! The International Society of Skateboarding Moms appeals to the cty to re-think its decision. Accept the donation from DC Shoes and take a proactive approach. Barb Odanaka International Society of Skateboarding Moms www.skateboardmom.comSkateboard Mom [06-10-2004]

i'm goin to love park on saturday june 12th, i know i'll get kicked out within 10 min but i cant not wait to skate it. f* the police and there stupid rules about love park. skateboarders made love and we should be able to sakte it. UNEAL SKATESHOPDANNY DITARANTO, three bridges NEW JERSEYYY [06-10-2004]

sup ya I skated love about a year ago and it was so sweet I can't even begin to explain how great of an experiance that was for me but the fact u get kicked out if you skate there is bull s* and the more and more I think about it the more pissed I get, FREE LOVE PARK you b*.Jered, New york, New york [06-07-2004]

a few years ago i stayed with my friend kerry in philly and skated at love park,i find it incredible that crack trade and homeless guys can dominate the park but some kids trying to utilise their environment around them for for nothing but fun can be arrested and be punished and fined (i was threatened personally with with these charges)is ridiculous....well done ken block and all at dc...my out look on your company has changed since knowing of your plans to offer money to the mayor of philly,to bad he is to short sighted....peace seth curtis and all at slamcity skates,blueprint,landscape,death,heroin,document,sidewalk etc ]seth curtis, london [06-06-2004]

Going to love park was a bust. I got kicked out after about 30 seconds and I was so stoked to go there. It was a great 30 seconds though. I saw stevie willaims, It was so cool. my favorite part about love was the curved ledges right before the stairs. I got to do two tricks on them, I would love to do more.anonymous, Boston [06-06-2004]

i skated love once and almost lost my b* thanx to the g* cops, me and some friends sk8ed for about 25 minutes and like the fact that the laedges are alwasy waxed and ready to go, also i like hte fact LOVE is in TONY HAWKS PRO SKATER 2 so i can sk8 it in and figure out gaps and grinds for next time i go (watch out pros i'm only 13)blackoutsk8team9, madison wi [06-06-2004]

Lets see june 1st my court hearing for my arrest for skateing LOVE.. $142 fine 24 hrs community service for hours of skateing the best park in the world. well im now broke, boardless, and extremely pissed But i garentee within 2 weeks i will be back and this time my car is gonna be parked somewere else and u dumb a** cops wont be able to get me. DC thanx for tryin so hard, i was at the rally right after court u gave it ur all. but no matter what happedn that day skateboarding will eb returned LEAGALLY to LOVE park BriaNBrian, Phila. PA 19115 [06-06-2004]

Love Park is the only place where I have ever been where I have witnessed sketchy people selling drugs to other sketchy people while I am skateboarding, only to turn around and see the most coordinated police raid I have ever seen, and I am the one the cops are after... Philly is an awesome place to skateboard, but an awful place to live if you are a young person. It says something about a city when it forces its youth to find places to skate in some of the gnarliest ghettos in the country (North Philly), only to reserve a downtown plaza which is perfect for the sport for the crackheads and bums who sleep there...John Smith, Philly [06-06-2004]

my friends and i left from the ville to philly at10 pm, we get to philly and all we can think of is how hype its going to be when we skate love.finally we show up and its like 2 in the morning and only poppalardo is there. we all skate for about 1 min and the next thing i know a cop is like 10 feet behind me hauling ass towards me, so we ran and got away, but it was crazy.josh dew, mech. va [06-06-2004]

In the main article it mentions how kids lean towards colleges here simply because of Love park. As would be the case with me. I was a small town south jersey kid who loved to skated small towns and those of you from small towns know cops hated skaters a decade or so ago for some reason. So when came here to look at schools about 11 years ago and discovered love park's incredible vibe and ledges and I was amazed at seeing cops just drive by with out really harrasing you. I was like damn I got to move here! It was then that I made the desicion to go to an art school just a few blocks from the park, Hussian School of Art. I skated love at lunch, after school and when ever I got the chance for a few years - or until I got side tracked by some other less positive things and off and on since. I didn't really have many poeple that I went to the park with I just loved to skate. I was an average skater and fortunately Stevie went to the high school below my school and I was a familar face to a few people so no one really bothered me. After all we were all there because it was a comfort to have such a dope place to skate. NOW THAT HAS ALL CHANGED. I started skating agian about a year ago and I am just as passionate about it now as I was then - possibly even more. Which imposses a couple of problems now that I am married, and have a kid along the way but thats another story. (not to mention the problem of staying on your board for more than 5 min. with out getting harrased). Now that I am almost 30 years old and constantly getting chased by security guards and cops I am slowly getting discouraged from one of the most positive things in my life. Love park lured me to this city 10 years ago to go to and is a big part of the reason I am a very established Art Director I am today. I have been paying an insane amount of city wage taxes because I still remember the old Philadelphia that didn't hunt down their youth just trying to have fun and to feel a part of something good. I find it crazy how much $$$$$$$ I give this city and gives back nothing more than a bunch of park rangers, cops, and security guards on my back for nothing but having some fun. Now that I think about it I can tell you another crazy thing. About 5 years ago I was shot twice at 13th and pine (center fricken city) and even layed up in the hospital for two weeks I never even talked to a cop! They never even showed up or cared about finding out who tried to kill me who is still out there today. In fact my friends that drove me to the hospital went back afterwords and told me the cops at the scene were passing the gun that punctured my lung around like a toy laughing and joking. But I put my skateboard down a few blocks away and they're me like white on rice. As I write this I am getting more and more disgusted with this city. And since I am established now I can do something about it and get the hell out! But I really feel bad for those kids that can't have to same positive memories I have of Love. I know to the politicians it sounds stupid but there really was something you can't really explain about the vibe that park had for the poeple who were a part of it. Now it's gone and I am really sorry that I can't share the same experiences I had at Love with my children. MUCH LOVE! peace and respect 04Dave Wiest, Philadelphia PA [06-06-2004]

yea love is so awesome dude everyone there is just having fun and all and the city is goin 2 take that away from its youth i skated there like 3-4 timez and its awesome. everyone reading this knows that people are going 2 go bak there wether cops come or not dc is awesome they at least tried 2 get love back for 1 mill. Its just a better feeling when you know you can skate at an awesome skate spot and not get arrestedgoldz, Egg harbor Township, NJ [06-06-2004]

I skated LOVE Park when I first started skating....it was amazing then, even though I could only kickflip and ollie and that was it. I skate all the time now, and i can't wait to go back there. Bring back LOVE!Brett Caruso, Hartford, CT [06-06-2004]

i have no one story but i'm 31 goin on 32 and as a teenager me and my friends would drive from pottstown to philly almost every weekend to skate love, city hall, s. st.. philly is such a fun city to skate. it's a shame kids to day don't have chance to skate there.ron perry, syracuse ny [06-06-2004]

I live in Philadelphia and I remember the days when skating Love was laid back and enjoyable. Then the days of constantly watching your back came around. Now it just sucks ass. Can we get a change of policy here? Philadelphia was the mecca of east coast skating for the last decade. Now we've been reduced to absolutely nothing.....especially since they knobbed City Hall. Act up, be heard, make a difference.Brandon, Philadelphia PA [06-06-2004]

I used to live outside of Philadelphia, but two years ago i moved to Florida. My friends would always go to LOVE and skate there almost every weekend. I was never able to go, but from what i have heard and saw LOVE park should be free. I am moving back in a month and i hope to be able to skate LOVE but I doubt it. FREE LOVE PARK!ZACK, Ft. Myers, FL [06-06-2004]

yo i skate love every day, i always get kicked out by those fat ass security guards, but now i think yesterday or somthin on the news DC bought love park for 1 million dollars and now there openin it back up to skaters, i dont know if its true but thats what i heardryan, philly [06-06-2004]

i've skated love park and i can tell you there is not one skate spot in the world that matcehs love park. It was one of the best expeierneces i've had.mark madsen, p-burg nj [06-06-2004]

Hello, my name is Ronny, I comes from Germany and has there a small Skateboardfirma named Cucain. I observe your project for some time, and I hope that their it create that the park again for Skater open. I cannot support you unfortunately. But we in Germany hope it success have. Sorry for my bad English. By check www.cucain.comRonny, Germany [06-06-2004]

Lived in Philly my whole life, learned to skate at Love. Its a beautiful place, and we need it back. People are definitely leaving Philly cause we don't have love anymore. There's no love for skaters in Philadelphia.Danny, Philly. [06-05-2004]

I am 15, I skated love park for the first time on November 18, 2003. I was the greatest experience in my time skating. It was me and my best friend Shannon, we where hittin up lines up n down the Love stairs it was the greatest. We sadly got kicked out because this was in the depressing time when Love was shut down to skaters. Love Park will never die! Tim.Timmy., Havertown PA, USA [06-05-2004]

we hitch hiked to love park. it took a week but we made it and we skate with the locals nothing bad happened there. no one was fighting we just wanted to sk8 with out jerks telling us where we can and cant sk8.if you take love park there hast to be a sk8park in the city. i wanted to like in philly and sk8 love all the time but if you take it away kid will get into drugs and gangs.IF i didnt see love park i would not be skating i would be smoking drugs and in a gang.when i saw love park i was stoked that ppl did let you sk8 some where but you have to find it i thought i found it but then some guy that is not into sk8ing desided to get rid of it. are you retarded what if i took your house or your favoret thing.big skater of the week, M town washington [06-05-2004]

We (me and my friends) used to take a 40 min. train from where we grew up (Lansdale) down to the city to skate on the weekends. Love Park was usually our first and/or last stop. The comradeship among the skaters we would meet at Love Park is something that can not be taught in grade schools or even in universities. Skateboarding in Love Park teaches kids that people are the same regardless of ethnicity, religion, age, sex, occupation or what neighborhood you grew up in. I think now, more than ever, it is important that we keep that tradition going. The first step in doing that, would be to allow and even encourage skateboarding at Love Park and throughout the rest of Philadelphia as well.Robert Menefee, East Greenville, PA. [06-05-2004]

it would be really great to skate love again without being kicked out. cops suck a** . i understand why the city made such a big deal and controversey over skateboarding when theres drugs violence and weapons going around the streets of philly they should handle there real problems befor they say that skateboarding is a crimepat zuzulock, national park new jersey [06-05-2004]

It was around April 2004 and it was a "family" dayin philly my mom is a teacher and we went to museams and stuff, but i got to skate fdr, cityhall, and love aprk...........fdr, and city hall was mad fun, but i cant explain what it felt like to be able to skate love for 15 mins. i am not saying this just because everyone says its mad good...i can explain what it is like to be able to skate love and it is just ? R.I.P. Love,P.S. thank you dc for trying to re-open it.Alex McClay, Brigantine nj, 08203 [06-03-2004]

I skated love park three times since i moved here in january and I see why this place is wanted back by skaters world wide. Even when the cops came it was worth the running.Blak Myke, North Philly [06-03-2004]

man that park is soooo crazy, i remember when i was like 12 i went there and saw some pretty awsome skaters and i actually think that is what got me to skate. And if LOVE isn't there anymore then I don't want to imagine how many other potential skaters could be lost. That park was like a skating heaven with small ledges ans big ledges, Man i remember those smooth slippy ledges to slide on. Just sitting here reading over some of those articles make me sick( LOVE PARK closed to skaters)Chris Leger, Moncton N-B [06-03-2004]

I skated love May 8th and i had so much fun. It was impossible to skate there until about 6:30 once the park ranger left. Then you got to skate for about an hour and a half each session until u got kicked out. No big deal. Everything there is so perfect. I am going there this saturday and obviously people skate there no matter what so we might as well skate there until its completely not skatable. FREE LOVE PARK!Greg Albrecht, Mays Landing, N.J. [06-02-2004]

Well, I live in NH so it was a once in a lifetime to skate LOVE. It was so perfect, ledges like butter. But sadly i got kick out 5 minutes later. :( FREE f*ING LOVE!Ethan Haust, Plymuth NH [05-30-2004]

Im from Toronot Ontario and we drove all the way to Philly to skate Love Park. It was the best roadtrip I ever had and i was 12 at the time and I felt totally safe because there was such a good vibe that the skaters were making at Love. Best Spot Ever! WE WILL SKATE LOVE AGAIN!ShredCentral, Toronto Ontario Canada [05-30-2004]

I skated Love a handfull of times back in the late 80's. At that time the hot spots, Love/City Hall/the place across from love and city hall, were full of skaters and we never got chased out the times we were there. The Edges still squared off not rounded like they are now. That was always the last place on our Philly excursion. We would park down at South Street and work our way into center city. The one trick that stand out in my mind that I loved to do ther was frontside wall rides (wall rides were still a big deal at that time:o) ) down the steps just as you enter the park to the right of the statue. Love will always be in my skating memories. Skate to live and live to skate TEAM STAY-Skateing Through Another YearChris Faulkner, NorthWales [05-30-2004]

hey people. yeah i sk8ed luv park that place was sick. i think they should re-open it. it was just me and my friends that went on a road trip up to phily, to sk8 the nice spots there, when we got there the first place we had to stop at was love park. we sk8ed there for at least 5hrs, we never got bored. i hope it will re-open again so we can all sk8 the best sk8 spot ever (lovepark). im from norwich it is a great place to sk8 down here we have this one park but it is kinda small and every sk8er in town is trying to make it bigger by raising money, there are a lot sk8 comps there and there are a lot of sick sk8ers that go there. around here in norwich is fun to sk8 lots of partys goin on and all the sk8ers get together and just go have fun doin what we do best and what we love (sk8n). There is a comp coming up pretty soon on june 27th, 2004. i think that some of u people that read this story should come to the comp this year and donate some money to it. p.s i think all u pros out there that wanna sk8 and have fun just come down here to norwich. there r millions of great places to sk8 here, just like there was at phily. well peace out sk8ers. have fun sk8n, dont quit nad do what it takes. E-MAIL ME AT MY EMAIL ADDRESS. IT IS KRAZYKEEBS@AOL.COM PEACE!Jake Thibault, Norwich, CT [05-30-2004]

mayor street can go jump in a street as far as im concerned. i've been to philly once but i plan to go there many times during this summer with my buds kyle nick alex and sam. But the one time i skated love was prob the most amazing night ever, it seemed as if everybody new the schedual that the security guards were on cause as soon as they left all of us just poured in, it was sucha amazing sight. Even after the "big changes" were made (taking the concrete benches out and putting more planters in and so forth) it was still an amazing spot, even without the out ledges on the sets, i coulda skated there for days, but sadly we only got to skate for an hour or two and then the cops chased us out for commiting what is made out to be sucha bad crime...skateboarding...So f* you if u think skateboarding should be illegal and love park should not be free to the skateboarders, the ones who make a use outta the park. FREE LOVEadam zajac, wantage, new jersey [05-30-2004]

They should open love back up... thats retarted that they close something worth so much to a group of people for no real valid reason. they want it for people to enjoi and visit... but skateboarding provided all of that and more. i dont understand the mayors plans for love park... if he wants people to go see it and enjoi it then hes taking the wrong steps... he should put more stairs in, put some flat bar hand rails, make it more skateable and more enjoi-able for people to skate because the people who did go there to eat lunch mainly went to watch the skaters. skateboarding isnt the destructive sport its known to be... expecially when compared to other sports out there. the mayor is taking the wrong steps to making people visit philly because people used to come from all over the continent to skate that place up and it brought in many people who just wanted to see it. i havnt ever been to love park but i have heard stories of it, i plan to go there after the next school year no matter if its skateable by then or not... i just want to be able to tell my grand kids that i set skatebaord on love park befor its too late. this is so rediculous that they are closing something of such value and something so useful to draw in crowds... many pros are leaving philly............ i wonder what brandon margera thinks. skate it up... keep it real... free love park! JJ from LAO, www.skatelao.tk [05-30-2004]

i skated love for 3 years it was perfect intill they hadda ruiin i really wasent any good intill i started to sk8 there me n my frind were sk8ing n next thing u no we hear a bunch of people yelling to get out of hear couse the popos came they ruin everythingmike, cherry hill nj [05-30-2004]

I'm older now (32) and hardly skate anymore but back in the late 80s/early 90s me and the Wabbit would take the El-train to LOVE every weekend. I truly felt privileged to have grown up near this East Coast Mecca. It taught me what real skating was and inspired me to get better. As I got older I would still stop by LOVE whenever in Center City just to watch 'cause there was always a session going down. I think I was almost as disappointed as the people who actually skate there when they "skate proofed" and cracked down. It will always have a place in my heart...FREE LOVE for everyone!Eric, Upper Darby, PA [05-30-2004]

i have been skatin 4 about 5 years and i never been to LOVE but i still feel that LOVE has be a HUGE part of my life wen do you no c love park every mag every vid hopfully wen i get a chance to go to LOVE it will be FREEE tell all of your friends on your buddy list or w/e to help SAVE LOVE PARK!abel, naugy [05-15-2004]

I used to live up in north philly and i thin everyone knows that i was a big supporter of LOVe and still am. If LOVE was re-opened and put back somewhat of the way it used to be i would probably move back to philly and i bet other pros would too. But for now i will have to just stick to all the spots here in Cali and hope for a better Love Park StevieStevie Williams, Los Angeles California [05-15-2004]

i skated at love park and it was termendous. it was the best skate i ever hitt up. it was great until i got busted by them doughnut hogging pigs (cops). yea its bettter than any othere skateparks around. im a lot better skater now cause once u skate at love park you know to handle any oppstical that is thrown at you.John, Nj [05-15-2004]

I skated at love it was hot. I was there on the protest there was a lot of heads. Me and my frinds skate there. I was not super good back then.I went a few times after im better now so it seems like it more fun.But when the cops come we got to run faster now. The second time i whent there Chris Cole and Kerry Gets were there Cole kickfliped of the big drop.steve, new jersey [05-15-2004]

While I appreciate what a GREAt spot LOVE Park is to skate, no one wants to take responsibility for all of the damage done to the park, or for the bad manners and behavior exhibited by some of the skaters. Visitors and residents being knocked down by skaters, bad language, etc., are just some of the complaints. I keep hearing from the skaters and their parents, "It's PUBLIC Property!" which it is, but again, the vast majority of the skaters are kids from outside Philly, whose parents don't pay one thin dime to the City of Philadlephia for the upkeep of LOVE Park. I really wonder how you, AND your parents would feel if a bunch of Philadelphia taxpayers came to your house, and destroyed you front walk, your front lawn, etc. You say your property is private, well, to the taxpayers of Philadelphia, LOVE Park BELONGS to US, the people who pay to maintain it, not to suburban kids who THINK they OWN IT! I think its now become an issue of you forcing your will on us, instead of whether you have a right to skate in the park.Phil Bowdren Sr., Philadelphia PA [05-13-2004]

I skated Love last saturday(May 4th) and it was soooo perfect. I wish that I had the oppurtunity to skate it before the planters were there, but it's still definately a sick spot.Jereme Lentz, Elwood, NJ [05-13-2004]

i love to skate love park i donbt want it to be taken from us skaters plzzz FREE LOVE PARKDerek Stewart, National Park NJ USA [05-13-2004]

I am no sk8r, but I am a BMX rider. and I used to ride love all the time. I used to just go to love, and if there were a lot of people there, i would either try to jump in with my bike or just go to FDR, a lot of times they were both filled up, but my point is...I loved riding at LOVE. its the first park I have ever riden in. And I hope it will be the last. but if they take that away, I wont be able to, and my life will not be full.Wayne, South Philly, PA [05-13-2004]

I skated Love park for my first time and it was the best thing ever. Love Park is a skaters heaven. You see it in videos and pictures and dream about skatin it and when u get the chance to it is the craizest thing ever. FREE LOVE PARK!Jerm Cav, Mays Landing. New Jersey [05-13-2004]

i am from Europe Austria. Few years ago i went to america to skate the hot spots. I think that Lovepark is one of the hottest spot in the wold. I hope that we can skate there in a view years again. Exuseme for my bad english but i am learning.Mathias [05-08-2004]

I skated LOVE park like 4 months ago. It was the best place I have ever skated. The skaters were so nice to eachother and the people around it seemed to enjoy it too. But those damn cops SUCK! they brake up everything that kids find entertaining. Skateboarding is keepping kids off the streets and off drugs, so let them do it. FREE LOVE PARK!Kyle Grossman, New Hartford, NY [05-08-2004]

I was just at LOVE over the last weekend. It was a great day for skating. Im not a local in Philly but the chance to skate it was great. When i arrived there were maybe 5 people there, but as the day went on, more and more skaters came. By 5 there were maybe 50 people there skating. SSkaters were helping each other figure things out and business men and women were watching as they passed. The place was very friendly until the police broke it up, then it was chaos. In the end i saw 2 of the skaters get arrested for participating in their sport and enjoing the day. Thats not right. FREE LOVE PARKZach Moss, York, PA [05-03-2004]

love park is one of the best place i have ever skated and that got tokeing away from philly i think it is happenin to us in syracuse we have the everson it is just like love park kinda it as the fontin gap it is a big 3 and we got a big ass 4 that is big and we got the low legel and high legel so it is really like love and we got a 2 but it is biger then a reg. 2 it is cool cuz u can do really good lines but any way ya the eve it is just like love ................CF rep rep keep love park ~dennis smith~dennis smith, east syrcuse [05-03-2004]

I went to Philly one time and saw Love PArk. It looks really sick. We went back and i got to skate it and i ollied the trash can off the ledge, and kickflipped over one of the gaps. That looks like nothign really, but LOVE PARK IS SICK! KEEP LOVE PARK RUNNIN....SSSSSSSSSSb, Brielle, NJ [05-03-2004]

i skated love park today it is the best skate spot but some f*ing d*head cops chased people away and arrested 2 peopleShane Lucas, York, PA [05-03-2004]

Hey..We skated at LOVE Park a few years ago and it was awesome!There is no reason for them not allowing Skaters to skate in it......I hate the people who discriminate against SK8ERS!Lynzi and Cassondra, Frankfort, Indiana [04-29-2004]

I skated love park and i thought it was a blast that suck you can't skate thier any more. i'm from Minnesota and my grandpa lives their.Lance [04-29-2004]

While I'm not a skater, I can recall hangin out in Love Park a few years ago when I was in high school and enjoying the ambience, skaters included. I remember going there for an awesome drum circle once a week. I just moved back to the area... anyone know if that drum circle still meets? Or did the mayor shut that down too?sh0rty, philadelphia [04-28-2004]

i go up to jersey about 5 to 6 times a year and every time i have skated love it is undoubtibally the best skate spot a skate MECCA if u will..........Keep on with all the LOVINGZack, Akron Ohio [04-28-2004]

i was one of the luckiest skaters from around my area of london as i got the oppurtunity to skate Love back in 2000. ive been skating since about 95' and there wasn't a spot that appealed to me more than Love! the place is like no other with lines for as long as you can imagine and im just so glad that i had the chance to skate this wonderful spot that although it's so far away it's so widely missed in the skate scene back in england aswell as philly. bring back Love so that genius's such as stevie,kalis,wenning,getz and all the others who skated there can show how much respect philly and Love have given to millions over the world! thankyou...kriss skeates-murlando, london, england [04-28-2004]

Hey wazzup i'm neil from holland and i skated at the love park a view years ago, i loved it my dads lives in philly so i hope that we can skate there soonneil, netherlands [04-26-2004]

yope i skated with max my best friend lovepark and it was great thanks for all PEACEsönke, hamburg [04-25-2004]

yes i skated love park for three years ago. i am from germany but my grandma and i flew to philly in my vacations and i skated love park. it was fantastic there because you could skate the ledges and stairs perfectly.sometimes you looked to the pros who filmed and skated well that was one of my best time in my life. i hope you get back maxMax, germany [04-21-2004]

when i skated love i skated with my friend just 1 but it was awsome he was a lot better than i am but i could still keep up with him my friend new kerry n after love we chilled at noc for ahwile just being in that wole atmosphere with pros n that awsome love park is awsome i remember also wanting to meet the dvs guys at noc but tas soon as they got to philly they skipped the sighning and just skated loveboyle, cinnaminson nj [04-21-2004]

I started to go to Center City not to long ago. I like city hall but its knobbed now cause of bitch ass Mayor Street. I like Love Park to but can't skate that ether cause of bitch ass mayor street. But there are still other good spots to skate like William Penn Highschool and Temple(HUGE!) and Burnt Cat Park(NOT IN SUCH A NICE PART OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD) and also Rhom and Hass aka.Fire Hiegrent Gap..And just every thing in Center City.. I find knew things everytime..ONE MORE THING MARKET STREET HAS a lot OF GOOD SPOTS BUT YOU WILL PROBLEY GET KICKED OUT>>>>PEACE$Willie from Philly$, Philadelphia,PA [04-21-2004]

attention,love park is now open so go skate it! IF U GO UP THERE FDR IS OPEN ALL THE TIME TO,THEY GOT SOME NEW RAMPS TO SOME MINI RAMPS.LOVE PARK OPENS AT 9:00 pm EVERYNIGHT .u will get arrested if u go before 9:00 ...but u can skate the courthouse till 9 its right beside love park and its legal.cody morris, salisbury,NC [04-21-2004]

Love park was nothing you could compare. I live in Lansdale(An outskirt of philly.)I would take the r5 Train from Lansdale to Market east station almost every weekend. When you go there you realize what its all about. Its better then any skatepark you could ever skate. And the atmosphere makes it icredible.Tom, Lansdale [04-21-2004]

I live in Tampa and it is quite the skate city. But I visited Philadelphia to see my girlfriend about a year ago and I have gone up there everychance I get. I absolutely love Philadelphia...Not just Love park, but the whole city is incredible. Anyway, I will be moving to Philly in August to go to Temple University. I am going to be one train stop away from LOVE park. I will go down to LOVE at any hour of the night to skate it. If anyone else goes to Temple or will be a freshmen this fall then Email me. All I know up there is my girlfriend.Brent, Tampa [04-08-2004]

well, i skated love park once, in the 80's, when a well executed bert slide was considered gnarly. gone are the days at love where you could skate there without getting hassled by cops. but if it is given back to skaters, then they will have freedom to skate it. if they give love back then more people can skate there and get a feel for the style of us pros skatin. if they give love back to skaters, itll be like normal again and well soon see more pros bustin nollington jizz flips over the love gap. peace out!joe simmonds, england [04-08-2004]

i went to love about 3 years back when i was 12 with my friends who were 15 at the time we took one of their cars down it was so tight. i couldn't really do much then but it was fun fallin on my face.nick k, Portland, Or [04-08-2004]

i came to philly to see my cousins n we skated in love park and city hall nice guys down there some hot chics need some more girl skaters tho.... i mean its ok for philly go to la they got some awesome parks.,crispin, la- cali [04-08-2004]

I remember back, a long time ago, when i was just getting into skateboarding around 11-12 years old and comin up here to Philly [before i lived here] to see my dad and he would take me down town, and i always had to see LOVE. I would just sit there and watch, and if i had my board, try, but end up getting in the way. Most people were pretty cool about it and i always LOVEd it. when i moved up here four years ago, i was so happy, one of the first things i did was take the EL to 15th and skated LOVE forever. I still go off and on, but kinda hard latly with everything going on =( and all the stuff i have going on in life. but everything time i get the urge, i always make my tour back to LOVE for the great memories and the great skate.Shawn - 'Kasper', Killadelphia [04-03-2004]

i havent skated love in a while but when i did it was great it was about 11 at night and me and about 12 other guys were skating. i remeber that i ollied off the ledge over the trash can i wasnt doing much i had a great time there and i heard that its reopening in july after the lunch timesbrian ohara, west deptford newjersey [04-03-2004]

Yeah I skated LOVE, THE BEST DAME SKATE SPOT EVER,As soon as i got there i heel fliped the love gap and i thought that was sick. But that was the first time i did it the second time i tried to do it f**cked up my anikle, then as soon as that happed a cherry top came over and took my board.......BOTTOM LINE LOVE PARK IS THE BEST SKATE SPOT IN THE WORLD EVEN IF THE COPS TAKE YOUR BOARD OR U GOT HURT..... THAT ALL DOSENT MATTER WHAT MATTERS IS IF SKATED LOVE PARK... R.I.P LOVE PARK.Ethan, north Wales, PA [04-03-2004]

yo i skated love once, even if the s* was to big for me i still think it should stay free. my team needs a place to skate for some good ass fotage. www.freewebs.com/disastersk8teamKevin Dougherty, Glenside, Pennsylavaina [04-03-2004]

LOVE is amazing. I take the Patco over to LOVE and city hall every weekend. To skate. Not tag the walls. Not start fights and break things and smoke pot. Just Skate. Bring it back for the people that care and arnt idiots.Nate R., Jersey [03-28-2004]

I remember i was there for a weekend and i saw Brian Wenning switch 180 the Love Park Gap I will remember that forever!Paul, Fort Davis [03-28-2004]

love is the best place to skate in the whole world my first time there i meet chris cole kerry getz josh kalis and rob pollasski something like thaat but love is made for skating it is the best place in the whole world they cant take it away from use skaters R.I.P LOVE PARKfreddie hess, National pak NJ [03-28-2004]

when i first skated love park i was with my friends ricky mcdonald and pickle.first we skate city hall then we want to love.it was my first time there so i didn t really trie nothing and because there was a cop there.then we stared to talk to the cop and my friend ricky told him he was going 2 ollie love gap. it was a good skate daygreg miller, national park [03-28-2004]

i went to love park a couple of times but usually when you got there there was a cop there and they usually chased me so i had to run i seen kids trying to ollie it sometimes and seen this kid ricky mcdonald ollie it but from westvill nj . i still dont belive it till i see it my self. i still think they should let you skate therejohn hart, national park nj [03-28-2004]

by far the best place i've ever skatedanthony, essex county, NJ [03-28-2004]

I skate LOVE almost every Saturday. With friends, with complete strangers, by myself I don't care all I know is I will keep going there. But ahhh those new pink planter things do get in the way. My girlfriend said you can bring your laptop there soon cause it's gonna be a WiFi spot. Weird.Peter, Philly [03-28-2004]

Love park,first thing that comes to mind,the smoothest flatland,the ledges,and most important,the skaters.rikcky oyola,roger brown,matt reason.they'er the ones who started it all.they'er the ones that started this obsession of mind...it was in the early 90's i think,i lived in w.philly,so did terrence hill,rasuol childs,and lil'stevie.we'd skate down to love daily.in a month,all i know is '' flatground''this was way before stevie was in the game...i remember ...you can wipeout big time and you would not get scratch,talk about ''smoothies''.i didn't realized it but the friends that i skate with did .its nothing but raw talentand thats what achevied at ''love park'' stevie lived on the same street as i did. he used to pay to do his dishes or his mom wouldn't let him go skate with us.i remember bringing stevie down to ''love''...he road his bike while we skated. i think he ask someone to lend'em their board,'til this day i've never seen him picked up another bike.i mean he was hooked.yea i miss love park,that place has left a huge impact on me and ricky,roger,matt,terrence,rasol,stevie, jon pooka,ratboy,kye,thanks 4 the sessions... lovepark,my ''training ground''oh yea,stevie,..sorry i never got the chance to start filming my footage...'' rip love park...july soulinthong, Murfreesboro TN [03-28-2004]

wow they knobbed city hall.....yes, they f*ing knobbed city hall! philly is going down the drain and its not coolpat, perk city, pa [03-28-2004]

I went to Philly last year for the first time. The city is totally off the hook- great people, beautiful public spaces like LOVE Park. There's no place like it! Free LOVE Park!Josiah, Vancouver, BC [03-28-2004]

I love sk8in love skate park i skate evey day i love this web sit and i wish i could be on it i hit a 12 set the other day it was sick i 180ed it was sweet!corey [03-28-2004]

love park is history and skaters made love park what it is todayanthony, pphoenixville [03-28-2004]

Dude when I skated love park I wasn't feeling the love but when I landed that 360 flip over the copers it was good NOT but dude for reel love is like the best ever and if we don't get it back its going to go down in skateing history as a wicked lossJon Hepner, Oregon Wi. [03-28-2004]

it was the greatest experience of my life and i would love to skate love park again. who ever destoyed it should be locked away and never show their face in public ever again. i need to rip it up one last time. it was soo addicting. ah right now im on the patch otherwise i would go crazy cuz i cant skate it .stu, oregon wisconsin [03-28-2004]

I skated LOVE PARK it was the best time I've ever had skating. I was rippin it up double heelflips on the eleven set. I would love to see it be UN-SKATE-PROOFED. Until then I will just go to Kettering,OH to skate that new skate plaza, hopefully I can rippit up as good there.Roger, mi [03-28-2004]

i was at love skating copscame and called me names gave me 45$ ticket so racist since im black philly is so gharlyteto, philly 215 329 5668 [03-28-2004]

i wnet on holiday and went to skate love it was amazing its like nothing in englend it was so good i came across so manny pros there stevie willaims bam margeria and my favrouite american pro Kerry Gets it was so sood and i was sad to hear that it had been banned to skate wen i read sidewalkAndrew Espey, united kingdom Englend [03-28-2004]

I've skated Love, (got the scars to prove it) Even though i hurt myself trying outlandish crap i knew i could'nt land. All I felt was love!Justin, Penndel P.A. [03-12-2004]

Yea love park is the Sh*t ive skated there and loved it. Love park is a park of skateboarding anyone who has seen a skatetape or has been skateboarding for more than two days knows about love park yea the should free it to skateboarders bikers who ever love park is the place to beGeorge Strahm, Brodheadsville, PA [03-12-2004]

My friend Andrew took me to Philly for 2 days. The first day we skated City Hall and downtown. The second day we skated Temple but the cops chased us out. We skated LOVE park at night cause there were a bunch of skaters there. We skated for an hour then cops came by and their sirens went off but it was just a tactic to scare us so nobody left. My friend was ollie-manualing the pad. I was trying to ollie off this high ledge next to the 11 set, it was like a foot higher than the 11 set. I stuck it and busted open my hand. Then a bunch of cops came and chased everyone out but it was still really fun.Jimmy, pa [03-12-2004]

my story isn't about all the tricks I busted over the fountain gap or how I got sponsored with all the tricks I pulled there. Truth is, any "trick" you young kids pulled at Love don't realize that it's been done hundreds of times by real "sponsored" skaters. What I believe many of you are missing is the real spirit of Love. Love Park is a mecca for riding a skateboard but just because you ride a skateboard and have been to Love doesn't mean you have found the meaning of Love. A place which was built way before any of us were in existence and even before skateboarding existed. Edmund Bacon (Kevin's father and Love architect) believes that skateboarders should not be banned from Love Park saying that we have x-ray vision getting more from the park than he had ever imagined anyone would ever get from it. However, not even Mr. Bacons' support could save the beloved Love Park. The following is my story. I grew up in a small town in central Illinois. Not exactly a skateboard hot-spot. There's no pro's or famous spots, only the local ledge and a few sets of stairs. Basically, if you skate there, you skate because you love it. So, I had just finished my senior year of high school and one of the only kids who skated around my area was getting ready to go off to SDSU. On a whim one week, we decided that we neeeded to take one last road trip. There was not even any deliberation over where we should go, we were going to LOVE. We set off for a trip half way across the country with less than $50 each. We only had 4 1/2 days to complete our trip, which was gonna take a day 1/2 to get there then another day 1/2 to get back. That left us a day 1/2 to skate. When we got there, we were skating up and about a block away I could hear the wheels of many skateboarders rolling around on the perfect ground. I could feel the Love deep in my heart. Right when we got to the edge of the park, we saw a young skater get tackled by an undercover. We went to city hall to skate, instead. There we found all the skaters who had just been chasedchad puhal, sacramento, ca. [03-12-2004]

I skated LOVE and it ruled. I feel priveleged to have skated there. I love LOVE! I got loads of autographs while i was there and they were such a cool guys. I got to rip LOVE park and i had a blast!Ash, England [03-12-2004]

I skated there about twice a day and the place is tubular. i dont understand why they wont put the place back like it used to be they are way too scared of a piece of wood with wheels. the mayor is a choirboy compared to me!tony hawk, Hawk city [03-12-2004]

I used to Drive two love every weekend and skate I was there when A Dog back side fliped the fountain And to close love is just f*ed upBill Harless, Ohio Greenville [03-12-2004]

I switch 360 flipped the fountain gap and that was the best day of my life. I had many great times at Love Park. It's one of the best places to skate ever! Yeah man! it's great and the police should just lay off skaters. I really hope they re-open Love park and let skaters skate there. Because without skaters it's just an abandonned place where no-one goes. FFFFFFFFFFRRRRRRREEEEEEEEE LOVE PARK!Ryan Johnson (pro skater), San Diego, California [03-12-2004]

Yea... I took a road trip that Costed about... 400.00 with some of my friends from Pittsburgh.. and it took us about 1 whole day to get there, to Love park, and when we got there we were F*****G amazing how much tehre is to do there and how nice it is tehre, its the greatest place to skate and take women to. But when there are cops patorling like they are goin to get you for every move you make, you can have fun tehre and haev a good time. Cus you knwo there is a cop or some one allways watching you're moves. Its a great place to skate.. I've skated with willaims, Knox Goddy, Andrew rynolds, Josh kalis and many more famous people and its just a great place to meet people! But It needs to be free and a place that people can do what they want with out getting busted so PLEASE FREEEEEEEEEEEEEE love park..... and if any one wants to skate Pittsburgh area E-Mail me.. I know Pittsburgh like the back of my hand, and you got a place to stay as well.... E mail me at Tekronskater1@yahoo.comGregory NOvick, Pittsburgh PA [03-09-2004]

I think Love Park is the best skate spot. I loved skating there and Mayor Street isn't keeping us out. There is no reason why we can't skate there. Everyone enjoyes seeing skatboarders there except the Mayor.Anthony Sarandrea, Philadelphia, PA United States [03-09-2004]

add 800,000 dollars to PA's school budget problems and what do you have......less school problems, more love park......guess fighting skating is more important than education...Mayor Street is beatdont worry about it, philly willy [03-09-2004]

I skated LOVE twice and im going there every weekend. That place is rad. Just avoid the guards and cops and your cool. That place is to good to not skate there cuz of some cops. FREE LOVENate, Jersey [03-09-2004]

i moved out to pa after they shut down love to redo it all. fall 2003 me and 2 friends went to philly. first stop was love. they ruined it. ugly pink planters and stupid benches. the guard there was cool, told us when he left. but then there's a group of f* who try and skate anyways; think that this guard is an a* for doing his job. he may not like it, but he has to. so this f* tries skating, and the guard TELLS him he cant skate here. they start hassling him. he coulda slapped him with a 300 dollar fine. moral of the story: being a d* isnt going to get love back. u need to be responsible and grow up. make the adults think ur adults, and then well get it back. free love park.dan bergman, red lion pa [03-07-2004]

Love park was the best park ever. I loved skating there. It made me feel alive when i was there. Even the cops didnt bother me that much. I just ignored them. RIP LOVE. I will always have a place on my board for you.Thomas winter, york, PA [03-04-2004]

my name ia adam. i live outisde of philadelphia. every weeknd me and friends take the trolley down to philly to skate. we started these trips about 2 years ago and have bin goin everyweekend since. we always skated love and everywhere else in philly but now we cant skate our favorite spot. we still go there late nigts when we r down philly and even when cops are there we still go and mourne the loose of love. THIS IS VITAL INFO--THE POLICE LEAVE LOVE PARK AT 7 ON THE WEEKENDS AND 9 ON WEEKDAYS i talked to a park security who was cool and he told me those were the hours they all were there so if ur itchin to skate love go then. he might have bin lyin but i have followed those times and havent had a problem since.Adam Suchecki, drexel hill pa [03-03-2004]